


The Happy Prince

by wildestoftales



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 11:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3486962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildestoftales/pseuds/wildestoftales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Have you ever been in love?” he asks. </p><p>Louis doesn't answer for the longest time. Niall is trying his best not to watch his face – which is silly, really, there are almost never any signs of reaction on Louis' face because it doesn't change. </p><p>“Only once,” he says so quietly Niall has to strain to hear him. </p><p>A bit of warmth returns to Niall's body.  </p><p>  <i>The one where Louis is a statue and Niall is a swallow but somehow they fall in love anyway.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Happy Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Major Character Death. 
> 
> Once again, I want to thank my lovely beta [Becky](http://archiveofourown.org/users/alovelytempest). Without you I'd probably have given up on this fanfiction thing after my first try so thank you!
> 
> I'd also like to give a shoutout to [Pixie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/anniepanic) who went through the trouble of organising this amazing ficathon! Thank you. This is right up my alley and I have enjoyed / am enjoying it immensely. 
> 
> This is obviously very heavily inspired by Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince". I have no rights to it. I also don't know anyone mentioned in this fic personally. Please don't show it to anyone involved.

****

**1 - The Happy Prince**

There's a statue on a hill in a park in a big and busy town in an even bigger and busier country. The statue has been there for so long that no one actually remembers how it got there in the first place, or why it was put up. It's all written down on the little bronze plate by the statue's feet, but no one but tourists really reads those anyway. And those tourists who do read it forget about it when the next distraction comes along. Well, if you were to bother reading it – and if you were to bother remembering it – it would tell you that it's the statue of Louis Tomlinson, long-since passed prince of this very country.

The statue itself is quite pompous. It's made of the finest stone, carefully crafted to display the prince's aristocratic features. Its hand rests on the hilt of the sword it carries, a bright red ruby embedded in the hilt. The statue's watchful eyes are made of the bluest sapphires. In fact, these individual parts are so valuable that a fence surrounds the statue and security cameras survey it at all times. It looks a little lonely up there on its hill. 

Yet, somehow, despite all this, the most eye-catching feature of the statue is still the brilliant smile it wears. It is because of this breathtaking smile - and because no one cares to remember the name Louis Tomlinson - that the locals affectionately call the statue The Happy Prince.

****

**2 - The Swallow**

There's a little swallow on its way to Egypt for the winter. It's late already but it's late every year, starting its journey in the middle of autumn rather than the tail-end of summer. This small blue swallow is quite a joyful and social fellow so it always gets distracted by meeting new and old friends on its way. 

This year it had been a bubbly gurgling river in the middle of the forest that the swallow had met first. It had spent days by its side, listening to the river's stories and laughing until its little belly hurt. 

Then, just a while after the swallow had taken flight again, it had happened upon its favourite tree, an old and giant oak. The oak was dressed in red and gold and all the other colours of autumn, so the swallow played and danced among the falling leaves. 

After that the little swallow had met a little rabbit it had grown up with. They had spent so long talking about old times and remembering their carefree childhood that finally the rabbit had stopped and said, “But shouldn't you be leaving soon, Niall? It's getting colder and colder.” and the rabbit shivered dramatically for effect. So Niall – that was the swallow's name – laughed and said goodbye and went on its way.

****

**3 - The Rest Of The Story**

There's a statue and there's a swallow and they're about to meet. 

Niall is flying over the town as dusk begins to fall. His wings are tired because he's been flying all day without a break and he feels like he might fall asleep and simply drop out of the sky any second now. 

That's when he spots the Happy Prince on his hill. He decides it's as good a place to spend the night as any – better than most, even. No one will disturb him behind the fence and the statue will shelter him a bit from the wind, he hopes. It's also quiet in the park, no loud cars or shouting people. So he lands in between the statue's feet and lies down, trying to get comfortable. 

Just as he's about to hide his head under his wing to go to sleep, a large drop of water hits him. He sighs. Seems like it's about to start raining and his chosen spot can't even protect him from it. Another drop hits him and Niall looks up. The sky is clear and there's not a single cloud in sight. The statue, however, seems to be weeping. Niall doesn't hesitate. He flies up to the statue's head, hovering still in the air in front of its face for a moment, before he gently lands on its shoulder.

“Uh,” he says because as social as he is and as much as he likes talking to anyone, he's not very good at dealing with tears. “You alright there?”

“Just fine,” the statue replies so sarcastically that Niall can't help but laugh. 

“Could've fooled me.” 

The statue lets out a world-weary sigh and Niall feels the strangest urge to make it laugh instead.

“It's just that. Everything is shit, isn't it?”

Niall cocks his head to the side as he looks at the statue. It had stopped crying, at least. “I wouldn't say everything. Loads of things are pretty awesome, actually.”

“They're not. See, I'm standing on this stupid hill and I can see the whole town and you know what I see? Misery. Everyone's feeling like shit and it's awful to watch and I can't even.” The statue pauses and frowns. “I can't even do anything about it.”

Swallows apparently don't have the eyesights of statues because Niall can't even see beyond the edges of the park they're in. “Well yeah, okay. But there's lots of happy people, too! And crying about the ones who aren't happy won't really help them, will it?”

“No, guess not,” the statue replies, sounding contemplative. “Who are you, anyway? I haven't seen you around before and your accent's all weird.”

“It's not weird,” Niall protests. “It's Irish! I'm from Ireland. My name's Niall.”

“Okay, Niall from Ireland,” the statue says. There's a hint of laughter in its voice and Niall likes that much more than the tears. “They call me the Happy Prince around here and I'm not from Ireland.”

Niall laughs. “That's ironic. The Happy Prince is crying.” He doesn't say it in a mean way. Actually, he says it rather kindly because that's how he means it. “Is that your actual name, then? It's a bit weird.”

“No. I'm Louis.”

“Louis,” Niall repeats, testing the way it feels. “That's a cool name, I like it!”

Louis laughs and Niall really quite enjoys that sound. 

“Well, I like Niall. It's a good, solid name,” Louis says. Niall knows Louis is making fun of him, just a bit, but he joins in with the laughter anyway. 

Not wanting Louis to think about the misery of the people in the town, Niall starts telling him about how he's going to Egypt. He tells him about all of his friends who are waiting there for him and all the adventures they will have. It's easy to talk to Louis and so Niall tells him all about the past winters he's spent there and all the things he's seen. 

Eventually, Niall's voice becomes slow as a snail and his eyelids start dropping closed again and again. 

“Sleepy time for Niall, it sounds like,” Louis says. “I'll still be here to listen in the morning. Can't really go anywhere anyway.”

Niall lets out a sleepy laugh that is more a loud exhale of air than anything and between one breath and the next, falls asleep. 

-

The next morning Niall goes to find some seeds for his breakfast. He feels a bit heavy at the prospect of leaving Louis all alone on his hill but he needs to leave for Egypt as soon as possible. It's already getting colder. He'll come back to see Louis next summer, he thinks. 

As he returns to Louis to say his goodbye, he recognises the heavy expression on his face despite the brilliant smile that's fixed on it. 

Niall doesn't have the heart to leave him just yet. A few more minutes won't hurt, will they?

“How are you today?” he asks as he sits down on his shoulder again. It's quite a comfortable place, he finds, and from here he can see Louis' face and hear his voice clearly. 

“At the other end of town there's this tiny little house, you know. I've been watching the family who lives there for years. They have a son. He's ill and his parents can't afford the medicine he needs,” Louis tells him instead of giving an answer. His voice sounds chocked. “His name's Liam and he's so ill. I don't know what to do, Niall, I just want to help him.” 

Niall feels sad for Liam – and for Louis. He leans his small head against his and remains silent. 

“He's just lying in bed, you know. He keeps trying to pretend in front of his mum that he's fine, that it doesn't hurt that badly. But god, I'm ages away and even I can see that he's in pain.”

“I wish we could help him,” Niall says. 

“Maybe we can. Can you do me a favour?”

Niall is about ready to say yes to anything if it will make Louis feel better. “What is it?”

“I can't move from here but you can. Could you take the ruby from my sword and take it to Liam's parents? They can sell it to pay the doctors and buy the medicine he needs.”

“That'll take me half the day at least,” Niall says even though his heart has already said yes. 

“I know. I'm sorry. You can spend the rest of the day and the night here again and then go on your journey tomorrow? You'll be so well-rested, you'll fly way faster! You'll be the fastest swallow in the whole world, I promise.”

Niall laughs. “You're the funniest statue I've ever met.”

Louis's smile seems to become real, just for a moment, pleased with the compliment. 

“I'll do it. I want your Liam to get better,” Niall says. He's already flying down and working on getting the ruby lose off Louis' sword as Louis describes to him exactly where to find Liam's family's house. 

He still gets lost a few times, in the end. The house is really very small and it's surrounded by houses just as tiny so it's not easy to find. He even has to fly back to the hill to ask Louis for Liam's last name – Payne – so that he can check the door plates for it. 

When he does finally find the house, all of the doors and windows are locked. Niall doesn't want to just leave the ruby in front of the door because he knows humans and he's sure someone else will take it. So he sits by the house, watching it for hours before finally someone opens one of the windows. He waits for a few minutes longer – he doesn't want to accidentally fly into anyone's face – and then hops in through the window. This time he's in luck. 

There's a young boy, probably not older than fourteen, but then again Niall has never been good at telling human's ages. He's lying in bed, caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, the discomfort plain on his face. Niall is relived to finally be able to drop the red ruby off on Liam's bedside table where he will hopefully find it. He wastes a bit of time using his wings to fan cold air into Liam's face. When the small frown between Liam's eyebrows disappears for a moment, Niall feels curiously warm inside. 

When he tells Louis about it, he says, “I know. I saw you” and “It's because you've done a good thing, right? That's what makes you feel warm inside.”

Niall technically knows that swallows don't blush – it's something humans do. But his face feels warm anyway. Maybe that's also the effect of the good thing he's done. 

“Thank you, Niall,” Louis says, sounding earnest. 

There's a bit of silence where Niall is not sure what to say. It's not something that happens to him a lot, so it's an entirely unfamiliar feeling. Finally, he asks, “How does that even work, though? Like that you saw me? I didn't know statues had like super-vision or something.”

Louis' laugh is lovelier than the ever-fixed smile on his face. It's so lovely, in fact, that Niall almost feel bad for all those people who will never hear it. 

“Super-vision, I like that. Like I'm a superhero, yeah? But I actually don't know how it works.”

“How can you not know?” Niall asks. “Is it something that all statues have, then? Or just you? Is it because of the sapphires?”

“Well, I'm not really a statue, see.”

Niall gets up from his resting place on Louis' shoulder to fly around him in a tight circle, just to take a good look. He lands on his other shoulder.

“Could've fooled me.”

“Oh, shut up. Yeah, obviously I'm a statue _right now_. But I haven't always been one, that's what I mean.”

Niall has never heard of anyone who became a statue and he's terribly intrigued.

“What did you use to be then?” he asks.

“A human. Actually, I was a prince, even. We lived in this giant palace just outside of town and I spent all day playing with my sisters or my nannies,” Louis says, his voice far, far away. “I was the oldest so I was supposed to become king but I never took it seriously. I skipped my lessons like every second day and no one really told me off, you know? I didn't have a single care in the world.”

Louis laughs but it's not a sound of happiness. “I don't know why I'm even carrying this sword, I never even came near serving the army or anything like that. Anyway, then... Well, then I died. And now I'm here.”

Niall shudders and tries to hide under his wings as a cold gust of wind ruffles his feathers. “Do all humans become statues when they die?” he asks. “Or just princes?” He can't imagine that it happened like this for every human. The world would just be filled with statues everywhere, surely?

“Oh god, no,” Louis says, laughing a bit again. “At least I don't think so. We're actually supposed to go to heaven. I don't know, I must have done something wrong. Because now I'm standing here and I'm forced to see the people of the town – my people – be miserable for the rest of forever. I could've imagined better for my afterlife.”

“Maybe you'll still go to heaven, wherever that is,” Niall offers because he has never heard of heaven before. Maybe it's a bit like Egypt, lovely and warm when the rest of the world is dark and cold. “And now you've got me so it's not as bad anymore!”

“I do,” Louis says fondly. “But only for one more night before you leave.” 

\- 

The next morning Niall wakes up feeling well-rested and refreshed, just like Louis had predicted. He's very cold, too, which Louis hadn't predicted. Almost all the leaves are gone now and Niall has never seen the trees look so naked and sad. He doesn't like it, not one bit.

“Good morning, little swallow.”

“Good morning, Happy Prince,” Niall replies ad he stretches his wings and flies a few circles around Louis' head. 

Louis laughs. “Don't call me that, it's awful.”

“I won't, promise. But don't call me swallow, it's like... It's like me calling you big statue. It's weird.”

“I won't do it then, Niall. Nialler. I can call you Nialler!”

Niall lands on the top of Louis' head just because he can. “That's alright,” he says. “You can call me Nialler.”

“If you take a shit on my head, I will end you.”

Niall laughs so hard he almost slips off and falls. “What? Why would I do that?”

“Well, it's what birds usually do! Some city employees come like twice a year to clean me. It's disgusting.”

“I'd never,” Niall assures him but he's not sure it's very convincing because he's still laughing too hard to properly pronounce the words. He does, however, get off Louis' head and back to his favourite place on his shoulder. 

“How would you end me, anyway? You can't move.”

“Wow, Nialler! Way to be rude,” Louis says, mock-offended. 

Curiously, Niall doesn't feel as cold anymore as when he first woke up. He guesses it must have something to do with Louis this time. 

It's not entirely on purpose that he takes longer than the day before to get breakfast. The thought of saying goodbye Louis weighs even heavier on him than before. Finally, he does return to him. 

“I think I need to go,” he says quietly into Louis' ear. 

“Do you?” Louis asks back. “Because I was just thinking. Well, there's this other boy--”

“Oh, Louis, no.” 

But Louis ignores him and barrels on. “Well, he's a young man, really, I think. I'm not sure. He's definitely older than I was when I died and I would have hated anyone calling me a boy then. He lives like in this really shitty apartment right underneath the roof? And there's even a hole in it, in the roof, I mean, and he can't afford heat anymore and – He looks so cold.”

“What's his name?” Niall asks slowly. He wants to protest, wants to say no, wants to say that he'll be back in the summer and then he'll save the whole town one by one for Louis if he has to – but he doesn't. He just asks for the young man's name. 

“It's Zayn, I think. I've seen it on his paintings. He's an artist, you know, and he's so talented. I couldn't even paint stick figures when I could still, you know, move my hands. But sometimes he gets so cold his hands are shaking and he can't finish any of the paintings. But during the summer, when he does finish them, and he can sell them, he gives all of the money he makes to his mum and sisters instead of keeping it.”

“What can I do?” Niall asks. “You haven't got another ruby.” 

“Take one of the sapphires,” Louis says easily. 

Niall startles. “I can't! It's your eye! I can't pluck out your eye, Louis!” he protests, all thoughts of leaving flying out of his head.

“You're my favourite swallow in the world,” Louis says with what sounds like a smile in his voice. “It's fine, I've got another eye, haven't I?”

That's true, Niall supposes. Still, it feels wrong to do this. “Won't it hurt?”

“I'm a statue, we can't really feel pain,” Louis says patiently. 

Statue also can't really cry, Niall thinks. Or literally pick themselves apart to save others. Louis does both anyway.

“Please. Just this one last time. Then you can go to Egypt and never look back. Please, Niall.”

“Alright, I will – but you have to tell me if it hurts. You have to.”

“I will,” Louis promises.

Niall still hesitates for a long, long moment before flying up to Louis' face. He hovers in the air in front of the great blue sapphires that are Louis' eyes for a moment. Then he gets to work plucking one of them out. 

Louis talks through it. He doesn't sound like he's in pain or like he feels any of it, really. It's what keeps Niall calm and helps him finish his job. When he's done he has a bright blue sapphires in his beak and a description of where and how to find Zayn in his head. 

He flies off. 

It's less hard to find Zayn than it had been to find Liam the day before. The only problem is that Zayn lives in the middle of the town where there are lots of people batting at Niall if he comes to close too them and fast cars who don't look out for little swallows flying low to get a better look at the houses. Niall never liked cars much. 

He slips in through the hole in the roof that Louis mentioned. Zayn is awake but he's bent over a painting, apparently lost to the world in his work. Trying to be quiet, Niall drops the sapphire on the small mattress in the corner of the room. He can't help but sit down next to it for just a second so he can admire Zayn's art. Louis was right. His paintings are gorgeous. 

Zayn straightens up and lets out a loud sigh, then, which is Niall's cue to leave as quickly as possible. 

When he gets back, Louis spends five minutes praising Niall's good deed and good heart so dramatically and over the top that Niall laughs the whole way through. 

-

The next morning it's someone named Harry. 

“I'm not plucking out your other eye. You'll be blind,” Niall says decisively. He doesn't even mention how autumn is approaching its end and how very, very cold he is. Half the night he couldn't sleep because he had been shivering too hard so Louis had told him stories about his life on the palace, despite not knowing the reason for Niall's sleeplessness. It's a bit like Niall has met each of Louis' many sisters personally now, that's how many colourful stories Louis had told about them.

“He lives on the streets,” Louis replies, “He doesn't even have a home. And he plays music to make money but people are too busy to pay him attention. He's not even 18, I don't think, and he has to do this. And he's so talented as well, Niall, he deserves so much better!”

“How do you know?” Niall asks a bit meanly. “Have you got super-hearing now as well?”

Louis sighs. “Don't be like that. It's my decision, right? And I want to help Harry. Please, Nialler. This is the last thing I'm asking you for, I swear.”

“I'm not doing it,” Niall says and leaves. 

It takes forever to find Harry without Louis' usual directions. He does find him, though, on one of the town's busiest street. Harry has a head full of dark curls, a wide smile, a guitar and a voice like honey. Niall wants to weep. 

And so he sits down and he listens to Harry sing for hours on end. He never wavers or stops smiling, even when people throw him annoyed looks over their shoulders. Only in the late afternoon does Harry take a break. He sits down on the cold ground and unpacks a piece of bread from his thread-worn backpack. Instead of eating it himself, he breaks off a small piece and looks directly at Niall.

“You've been here for ages,” he says, still smiling. “Want some?” He drops the small piece of bread on the ground and Niall slowly hops closer. He hasn't eaten yet today and takes it gratefully.

“Bit late for you to still be here, isn't it? Shouldn't you be somewhere warmer by now?” Harry asks as he munches on the rest of the bread.

“I'm here because of Louis,” Niall answers but to Harry it must only sound like chirping.

Harry laughs. “You're welcome! Of course I'll share with a loyal fan.” He tosses another small piece of bread Niall's way. 

-

When Niall returns, it feels a bit like Louis' shoulder – or maybe his entire body, if you can call it a body – is shaking underneath Niall's feet, but that's just silly. Louis can't move. 

Niall gathers his thoughts. “You're my best friend, you know.”

Louis' bright smile seems to turn a bit wistful. “You've got loads of friends. Back at home and waiting for you over in Egypt as well. You've told me all about them.”

“Yeah but you're my _best_ friend,” Niall repeats and means something else entirely. “I'll do whatever you ask me to, I promise. Just ask and I'll do it.”

A sigh leaves Louis' lips. “Can you – well. I want you to please pluck out the sapphire that is my right eye and bring it to the street musician named Harry. He needs it more than I do. But first,” Louis pauses, “Can you maybe stay front of my face for a moment? I just want to look at you for a bit before you do this.”

Niall is not one to break his promises. 

-

They don't speak much when Niall returns from his errant. He lets Louis know that he's back, trying to get used to the fact that Louis can't see him anymore. Then he sits on his shoulder and slowly watches the world go dark around them.

“You can leave tomorrow morning, I reckon. Go on your big journey. It's not like I can see more people who might need my help. Or like I have anything left to give,” Louis says quietly when the town's clock has long since struck midnight. “I'm sorry I've kept you so long. Have the best time ever over there, yeah? For me, Nialler. Oh and say hi to all of your friends from me.”

Niall is hidden underneath his wings to protect himself from the biting wind but he hears Louis anyway. He chooses to pretend he hasn't – or to at least change the topic quite abruptly.

“Can you feel anything?” he asks. “The cold or the wind or anything? Can you feel this?” It takes him a long moment to get rid off the stiffness in his bones and use one of his wings to gently stroke along Louis' temple and cheek. 

“Feel what?” Louis asks back which is an answer in itself.

“I just kind of, uh, stroked your face, I guess.” Niall's voice sounds thick even to his own ears.

“Oh. No, I can't feel it. Or the wind or anything.” 

There's a beat of silence. 

“I wish I could.”

Niall doesn't ask if Louis means the wind or his touch. He supposes he knows the answer, anyway. There is a sadness taking root, somewhere deep in Niall's chest and he's not sure what to do with it.

-

Louis doesn't say anything about leaving the entire next day, so Niall doesn't mention it either. They exchange stories again, instead. Niall tells him about growing up in a big Irish forest and all the friends he was surrounded by. Louis laughs loudly whenever he hears about younger Niall getting into all kinds of mischief. 

It's only the day after that Louis seems to find his voice. It's raining but Niall refuses to take refugee by Louis' feet. He's not leaving his shoulder. 

“It's time to leave, isn't it?” Louis says, a bit louder to be heard over the dripping of raindrops all around them. He shines when he's wet and Niall is reminded of when they'd first met – when Louis had cried big sad tears. It occurs to him that both of them could be crying right now and the other would never know. 

“I'm not leaving.” It's the first time Niall has given word to what he's known to be true for a while now. It's oddly liberating. 

“But you have to. I mean, winter's coming.”

Niall laughs but it's not entirely a happy sound. “It's fine. I'm not leaving you. I can hardly be the first swallow to spend the winter here instead, right? I'll stay with you and I'll be your eyes from now on.”

“You're my favourite swallow in the world,” Louis says. He's said it before but it makes Niall feel warmer than anything has in days. He can probably survive the winter on Louis' warmth alone, he thinks.

“Well, you're my favourite statue in the world.”

And so it happens. Niall spends the time flying all over town so he can tell Louis about what he saw. Most of the time he checks in on the three people Louis had loved so much from afar that he had given them pieces of himself. 

“Liam's doing really great,” Niall says, breathless in his excitement. “I even saw him up and about outside! He was playing with his sister and she called me a nice little fellow when I got too close.”

Louis laughs so loudly Niall startles. “Oh, that's brilliant! My nice little fellow.”

Niall knows that hitting Louis with his wing doesn't really affect him in any way but he doesn't let that stop him. “Oh, shut up! And his parents bought him all this pills and he's going to the doctor, like, everyday. It's amazing, he's so much better.”

“Is he happier?” All at once, it's a very Louis' thing to ask but also such a not-Louis thing to ask.

“I think he is, yeah. He smiles a lot! And he has a really nice smile.”

“Not as nice as my smile,” Louis replies instantly and Niall laughs at him.

“Of course not,” he says and means it. 

Then he tells him all about Zayn who's not only managed to finish his latest masterpiece because he has enough food and money for warmth to really focus on it – he has also been discovered, it seems. Niall doesn't really understand it but there is this elderly woman who seems to mentor him. Zayn keeps carrying painting after painting into a big old building, his cheeks glowing with happiness.

“That's a gallery!” Louis says. “Artists show their paintings and then old rich people buy them. You have to be really good to have an exhibition there, I think. That's so great, I _knew_ he could do it!”

It's too cold now at night for Niall to manage anything more than a light doze. Louis doesn't really seem to need sleep in the same way that he doesn't need food or water. So they just spend more time talking. Somehow, they never run out of things to say. Sometimes Niall's belly hurts because he's laughing so hard.

-

Niall is so cold that he's sure he must be actively shivering. It's alright as long as he doesn't make a sound. Louis can't see him anyway, not anymore.

“Have you ever been in love?” he asks. 

Louis doesn't answer for the longest time. Niall is trying his best not to watch his face – which is silly, really, there are almost never any signs of reaction on Louis' face because it doesn't change. 

“Only once,” he says so quietly Niall has to strain to hear him. 

A bit of warmth returns to Niall's body. It's weird, is what it is. A statue and a swallow, who has ever heard of it? But somehow, in some way, Niall feels they're perfect. Untouchable, just for that one small moment in time. 

\- 

One morning, Louis says, “You haven't told me about how Harry is doing.”

Niall doesn't want to move. By now, parts of him ache from the cold. He knows flying will make it better, will warm him up, but the thought of it still makes him feel vaguely ill.

“I'll go check on him today.”

It still takes ages before he manages to gather himself. 

“And get yourself some food! Just steal someone's if you have to,” Louis shouts just as Niall is leaving hearing range. It occurs to Niall that he can't remember when he last ate. That's strange. 

A nice old lady feeds him breadcrumbs and then Harry has more food to share as well. He acts like he recognises him but Niall isn't too sure about that.

Harry is still playing on the street but he's wearing warm clothes and when Niall follows him later, he finds that Harry goes back to a nice flat he shares with some other people. So it seems like he doesn't live on the street anymore. He can't wait to tell Louis how well everything has worked out. 

-

Niall startles awake in the early morning hours. He hadn't really noticed falling asleep in the first place. He feels heavy and numb. He just knows.

“Louis,” he says but he's not sure if he's really said it out loud or if it was just in his head. “Louis?”, he repeats.

“Yeah? What is it, Nialler?”

“I think I have to go,” Niall says very slowly, giving himself time to gather his words.

“Now?” Louis asks. He sounds choked up in just that one small word. Niall's heart breaks a little. 

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry,” he whispers. And then because there's nothing else to lose, really, “Can I kiss you on the cheek? As a goodbye?”

“It's fine. I shouldn't have kept you so long. I'm glad you're finally going to Egypt. Come back to visit me in the summer?”

“That's not where I'm going,” Niall says too quietly for Louis to hear. 

“You can't kiss me on the cheek, Nialler. Don't be absurd. You know that I love you, don't you? You have to know. Kiss me on the lips.”

There is no strength left in Niall to form the words he needs to form – I love you. I love you more than myself. I wish you could feel my kiss.

That's what Niall uses his last bit of strength of willpower for. He flies up to Louis' face and kisses him as softly as only one who loves with all their heart can.

“I'm sorry,” he says again. “I'm not going to Egypt. I'm sorry, Louis.”

Then he falls, his small body dead before it even hits the ground, a soft thump the last sound he ever makes. An almost silent crack follows it.

****

**4 - How It Ends**

There's a statue on a hill with a dead swallow lying at its feet. People don't call it The Happy Prince anymore because it doesn't look happy at all. No one knows where all the precious gemstones went – youths stole it, they suppose. What's oddest about it, though, is that the brilliant smile fixed upon its face is gone as well. Surely no one can steal a smile, can they?

The city employees who usually come to clean the statue up frown heavily and inform their supervisor who informs their supervisor. Together they decide to check the security cameras to see who stole the city's property. But first, they will take the statue down. It's hideous now, really, unsettling in its blindness. It's not like anyone will miss it, they reckon. No one even remembers who Louis Tomlinson was, anyway. So they send a team of specialists and the specialists take the dead swallow away and they take the statue down bit by bit.

When they get to taking his chest apart, the most curious thing happens. 

“Would you look at this! That thing has a heart,” one of the workers says and pulls a large heart made of gold out of the statue's chest. “And it's broken.”

It is. Right there, straight down the middle of the gold heart, a large crack has broken it in two.


End file.
